


Happy Birthday, Arabella

by Thatonegothynerd



Series: Adventures of The Scarred [19]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 21:16:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20088901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatonegothynerd/pseuds/Thatonegothynerd
Summary: A memory of Arabella's 10th birthday seeing as her birthday would have been yesterday.





	Happy Birthday, Arabella

Arabella woke up and a smile spread across her face. Today was the best day of the year, the day she wished it could be every day: Her birthday. She lay in her bed in her dark room, perfectly bright to her infernal eyes, for just a few more moments, excited for her day. She could already hear her father humming a tune from their small home’s kitchen. She quickly jumped out of bed to join him. 

“Happy tenth birthday, angel!” her father said as she sat at the table where a stack of pancakes was already piled high and covered in syrup. 

“Thanks, Dad,” she said before digging in. Her father, Dryden, continued to whistle as he worked, cleaning the morning’s dishes. 

“So, what to do first?” he asked.

“Do you even need to ask?” she giggled. She wanted to do the same thing every year.

“I guess not,” he responded, laughing as well. “As soon as you’re done eating and dressed we can go.”

Arabella ate at double speed and ran to get dressed.

…

Not a half hour later the pair were standing in front of the one and only fine dress shop in the town of Drynna. Not that there was anything amazing about the dresses within, but they were the best anyone could get without leaving for a bigger city. None of that mattered to Arabella though, to her they were all magnificent. There were dresses made of imported fabrics in colors far bolder than anyone in town seemed to wear, with a few very wealthy exceptions. There were countless patterns and designs and Arabella imagined herself in all of them. She wanted lace and silk and satin and tulle, embossed and embroidered and printed and dyed. She wanted them all.

The shop owner openly glared over the counter as they entered the store, but remained silent. The first year they came to the shop, she had objected, but she knew by now they would leave with a dress of a decent price so she allowed them to stay.However she would not help them with their shopping like she would a normal customer, and she always charged them double. 

“Alright Arabella,” Dryden said as she started to walk towards a dress with a gaudy star print. “One dress, whichever one you want.”

Arabella turned and grabbed her father around the waist in a hug. Dryden laughed and hugged her back. 

“Come on now, you have a dress to pick. We can’t stand here hugging all day,” he said.

She released him and turned once again to survey all of the dresses. There were dozens to look at, but her attention was immediately drawn to the one on display in the center of the room. It was made of a shiny emerald green fabric embossed with a gold design. It had poofy sleeves and enough tulle to make the wearer look like a cupcake. That was it: The perfect princess dress. Arabella approached it in awe and saw a small tag on it. She turned it over to see a staggering number written in careful, fine script. It was more than her father made in a year.

“Is that the one you want, angel?” her father asked.

It was, and she knew that if she said so her father would get it for her, no matter the cost. But she also knew how much more he would have to work, and how much less he would have for himself if she did. 

“No,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment.”That one is too… poofy.”

She quickly turned her attention to the other dresses along the wall and away from her father. 

…

A few hours of looking and oohing and awing at dresses finally led Arabella to her decision. The dress was still very pretty. The white sleeves were short and puffed and the bodice and skirt were one piece, made of a forest green fabric with a silver trim. A scaled down version of the dress she really wanted at a much more reasonable price. She was excited for a new dress nonetheless, and after her father paid for it, the two went home so she could change into it, then once again ventured into the market area. 

As the two walked into town, Arabella could feel the glares of the townspeople as she passed, but today that wouldn’t affect her. Today was her birthday and she would be unapologetically herself. She smiled at the people who passed and though she got no smiles in response, she felt like there were fewer looks of outright hate. There was a spring in her step as she walked down the street, her father by her side on her birthday. All of the hateful people in the world couldn’t ruin this day for her.

…

Seventeen years later, Avarice woke up and treated the day like any other. It was a few days past High Summer and there was still too much to do. There was Elisandi to deal with and a new member of The Scarred to get to know, plus they were headed south soon to go to the Underdark. 

She looked down at her dress, the same one she wore almost every day and sighed. There would be no more new dresses. Twenty-five years of them was all she would get. There would be no pancakes or birthday songs or hugs from her father. None of her friends even knew what today was, Dragomir didn’t even know what today was, and she intended to keep it that way. There was too much to be done and no time to take a day for herself. 


End file.
